A 'Hamilton' Documentary Is Coming to PBS (and Lin-Manuel Miranda Is Taping His Performance, Too)
There may not be a "Hamilton" movie in the works any time soon, but that doesn't mean fans won't be able to enjoy the musical outside of Broadway: The production announced some big news yesterday that ensures there will be at least some "Hamilton" content (and possibly the entire show) coming to the airwaves very soon.
"Hamilton" creator and titular star Lin-Manuel Miranda revealed that the Tony-winning musical smash is set for the documentary treatment, and will be featured on the ongoing PBS series "Great Performances." The 90-minute doc will premiere on PBS on October 17, and will feature not only some in-depth behind-the-scenes footage, but also discuss "where 'Hamilton' intersects with history," according to Miranda.
The documentary is being directed by Miranda's longtime friend (and onetime college roommate) Alex Horwitz, and includes what Miranda dubs "insane footage," such as the composer writing "My Shot," and interviews with big names including President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, George W. Bush, Questlove, and Jimmy Fallon. Miranda himself also conducted interviews with Stephen Sondheim, John Weidman, and Nas.
But what could be an even bigger bit of news for fans is the announcement that the entirety of "Hamilton" itself is set to be filmed before Miranda departs the production on July 9. According to the star, RadicalMedia (the company also behind the doc) will be shooting two full "Hamilton" performances later this month, though Playbill reports that "use of the footage in its entirety or otherwise has yet to be determined."
The obvious application would be to air the musical on television at a later date (or even broadcast it in movie theaters), though of course, fans will fave to wait for official word from the production before we know what it plans to do with the recordings. Fingers crossed that it makes its way onto the screen -- either big or small -- sometime soon.
[via: Playbill]
Photo credit: Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions